The value of Chinese outbound mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the first half of 2018 reached $22 billion, business consultancy Bain & Co. said in a report released on Oct. 11.

Although the value of outbound deals declined compared with those from the 2015-2017 period, Chinese companies have gained market shares in utilities, construction and online business in Brazil, India and Indonesia.

The report showed that in 2016 and the first half of 2017, the value of overseas M&A transactions by Chinese companies stood at $118.7 billion and $56.7 billion respectively. From 2015 to 2017, in the Asia-Pacific region, Chinese companies were involved in more than 40 percent of M&A deals for three consecutive years, while the number of transactions aimed at acquiring all shares increased significantly.

Among them, the number of cross-border M&A deals with a target of 100 percent control from Chinese companies doubled in the 2016-2017 period when compared with the 2013-2015 period, while the number of transactions to acquire 50 to 100 percent ownership more than tripled.

In 2017, China only spent 0.6 percent of its GDP on overseas mergers and acquisitions, about half the percentage spent by Japan. Furthermore, the number of overseas M&A transactions by private companies is growing much faster than those of state-owned enterprises.